The U.S. Census Bureau has added population to or shifted population within several blue states after officials asked for a review of 2020 census figures.
The bureau approved an Illinois request to conduct a review based on a survey that found the state gained residents leading up to 2020, contrary to the trend reported in the census.
The bureau found that 773 group quarters, or facilities such as senior homes and dormitories, were missed by census takers. Within those facilities, the census counted 46,400 people.
The updated count doesn’t affect 2020 census numbers but will be applied moving forward to annual estimates that help officials prepare for the next count.
“I’m pleased that the Census Bureau has recognized the undercounting that I and many members of Illinois’ Congressional Delegation have worked to remedy since the 2020 census results were first released,” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in a statement. “This correction will bring in millions in additional federal funding for crucial programs and help to ensure future counts reflect the true number of Illinois residents.”
The request for a review was made through the 2020 Post-Census Group Quarters Review program.
The bureau doesn’t inform state and local officials precisely how much the population total was changed, only that all or part of their review was approved. Officials can figure out the changes by comparing updated figures in the annual population estimates with the 2020 census numbers.
Officials in New York City said that a similar request, based on their belief that inmates and students weren’t included in the 2020 census, was also approved by the bureau.
The updated count added about 1,090 people to the city.
“Through grit, rigorous study, and careful tabulations, we were able to correct the census count and deliver more federal dollars for New York City,” Dan Garodnick, director of the Department of City Planning, wrote in an email.
While the counts won’t affect apportionment, or how congressional seats are allocated, New York state wouldn’t have lost a congressional seat if an additional 89 people had been counted during the 2020 census.
California Changes
California officials took advantage of another pathway, the Count Question Resolution program, to successfully seek a shift in some of the population counted in the census.The population on the USS Abraham Lincoln was counted for San Diego but has been updated to count for neighboring National City, a spokeswoman with the California Department of Finance told The Epoch Times. The shift amounts to close to 3,000 people.
Another intra-state change was reallocating the 4,000 inmates at the Mule Creek State Prison to the city of Ione from surrounding Amador County.
The changes don’t affect how much population California has but can make a difference in local funding, the official said. The state has requested changes to the state-level population but it isn’t clear on how those changes will affect the total.
The Census Bureau said on Jan. 24 that it recently notified all state, local, and tribal governments that requested re-checks of the results of the reviews.
The original goal was to send notifications by Sept. 30, 2023, but the review period was extended “after receiving a high number of cases at the submission deadline” the bureau said. In total, the bureau received nearly 200 requests before the June 30, 2023, deadline.
Confidentiality requirements in federal law prohibit the bureau from outlining which requests under the Post-Census Group Quarters Review were considered and accepted. The results from the other program will be released over the next several months. Changes based on all the reviews will be incorporated into estimates moving forward, the bureau said.
The bureau previously acknowledged undercounts in Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas, including an undercount of 5 percent in Arkansas. The bureau also found overcounts in Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Utah, including a 6.7 percent overcount in Hawaii.
The errors that led to the undercounts and overcounts can be corrected, but not until the 2030 census, the bureau said.
Cities to Be Counted Again
Another program, called the special census, allows cities to request a population recount. The recounts can start in 2024.With one exception, city officials don’t think the numbers from the original count were inaccurate. It’s just that their populations have grown so fast in three years that officials believe they are leaving state funding for roads and other items on the table by not adding the extra growth to their population totals. Some also believe that new results from a second count will open up their community to new businesses by showing they have crossed a population threshold.
“We anticipate a significant increase in population from the special census, particularly given that we have had a record building-permit year,” said Marketa Oliver, city administrator for Bondurant, Iowa, a city of more than 8,700 residents in mid-2022, when the most recent figures are available. That’s an 18 percent increase over the count in 2020.
Officials in Norwalk, Iowa, hope the second count shows the city has topped 15,000 people, since that’s the threshold typically used as a rule of thumb in commercial real estate for when a community can support a business such as a supermarket.
“Once a city hits 15,000, the market opens up tremendously,” said Luke Nelson, Norwalk’s city manager.
Local, state, and tribal governments across the United States have until May 2027 to ask for a special census from the Census Bureau. While the tab for the 2020 head count was picked up by the federal government, the local municipalities must foot the bill for their special censuses. The cost isn’t cheap, ranging from just over $370,000 to almost $500,000 for the communities.
Previous changes to city populations since the census have included 1,958 residents being added to Whiteville, Tennessee, and about 800 residents being added to Milwaukee.
